Duluth building department

Construction Services & Inspections (CSI) reviews plans, issues building, plumbing, gas piping and HVAC permits, and inspects construction for property inside Duluth city limits. The office sits on the first floor of City Hall in Room 100 and is open 8:30 a.m. to 4:00 p.m., Monday through Friday. Zoning review happens in the separate Planning and Development Division, and electrical permits are not issued by the city at all — they come from the Minnesota Department of Labor and Industry (DLI).

Applying through ePlace

Every permit application goes through ePlace, the city’s enterprise permitting and licensing system, which also handles zoning, rental licensing and code enforcement records. You need an ePlace account before applying; the city posts a step-by-step account guide on its ePlace page. CSI provides a Comprehensive Residential Checklist and a Comprehensive Commercial Checklist to assemble a complete submittal.

A Permit Coordinator checks completeness and routes the file to Life Safety, Planning, Engineering or the Fire Marshal as needed while a Plans Examiner reviews it against the state building code. When review is done, the coordinator posts an invoice in ePlace; once it is paid, the permit, inspection card and stamped plans are attached to your ePlace record for you to print and keep on site.

If ePlace throws an error or no payment confirmation arrives, call the Permit Coordinators instead of resubmitting; the city asks applicants not to create or pay for duplicate permits.

Commercial pre-review meetings

CSI reserves Wednesdays for commercial pre-review meetings with a plan reviewer and the zoning coordinator; requests are due the Thursday before.

What needs a permit in Duluth

A building permit covers structural work — framing, foundation, walls, siding and roofing included — plus moving, demolition and change of use. CSI publishes these building-permit exemptions, among others:

• One-story detached sheds, playhouses and similar accessory structures up to 200 square feet
• Fences up to 7 feet high (a separate zoning fence permit may still apply — see below)
• Retaining walls up to 4 feet, measured from bottom of footing, with no surcharge
• Decks and platforms up to 30 inches above grade that are not attached to a structure with frost footings and are not part of an accessible route
• Prefabricated above-ground pools up to 5,000 gallons and 24 inches deep on residential (R-3) property

Plumbing and gas piping permits can only be pulled by a licensed contractor unless the work is in an owner-occupied single-family dwelling.

Decks, garages and fences

• Decks attached to a building, more than 30 inches above grade, or on an accessible route need a permit. Frost footings in Duluth go 60 inches below grade. Expect footing, framing and final inspections; footings are inspected before concrete is poured. CSI asks for applications at least two weeks before you plan to start.
• Detached garages over 200 square feet use the city’s Garage Packet (for buildings up to 1,500 square feet with sidewalls 10 feet or less). Garages are capped at 20 feet tall measured to mid-roof, the slab must be at least 5 inches thick, one accessory structure may cover no more than 30% of the rear yard, and all accessory structures combined no more than 60%.
• Fences 4 feet or taller need a $100 fence permit from Planning; fences over 7 feet need both a fence permit and a building permit. Fences must sit at least 3 feet back from street or alley right-of-way, front-yard fences are limited to 4 feet (6 feet if at least 50% open ornamental material), and side and rear yard fences in residential zones top out at 8 feet. The property owner must be the applicant.

Fees

Valuation-based permit and plan review fees follow Duluth Legislative Code Chapter 31, with the state surcharge under Minn. Stat. 326B.148. The plan review fee is 65% of the permit fee (decks and garages excepted), reducible to 25% for repeat similar plans. Starting work without a permit doubles the permit fee.

For 2026, the city moved several common residential permits for existing one- and two-family homes to flat fees, which include the $1 state surcharge:

Work (existing 1–2 family)	2026 flat fee
One window, door or interior drain tile	$101
Two or more windows or doors	$201
Reroof, residing, or drywall/insulation	$201
Multiple maintenance permit	$351
Furnace or boiler replacement (per unit)	$151
Entire HVAC system replacement	$201
Water heater	$56
Residential solar PV (no structural work)	$66

New buildings and expansions may also owe a Capacity Availability Charge to Resource Renew (WLSSD). That charge rises from $940 to $1,200 per unit effective January 1, 2027, and CSI needs the WLSSD unit determination before it issues the first building permit.

Inspections

Inspections are requested by phone directly with the inspector assigned to your area — the name and number print on the issued permit, and the city maintains an inspector-areas map. Call at least 24 hours or one business day ahead. Inspectors are generally reachable from 7 a.m. to 3 p.m. on weekdays; leave your name, number, address, permit number and the inspection type (footing, framing, final) if you reach voicemail.

When a new building or a change of occupancy passes final inspection, the inspector initiates the Certificate of Occupancy, which can take up to three business days and is emailed to the requester. Projects that don’t need a C of O receive a Letter of Completion instead.

Codes and new requirements

CSI enforces the 2020 Minnesota State Building Code adopted by DLI. Electrical work falls under the State Electrical Code: permits filed on or after August 17, 2026 must comply with the 2026 NEC. Beginning January 1, 2027, CSI requires an ACCA Manual J load calculation with the building permit application for every new one- and two-family dwelling.

Contractor licensing and homeowner work

Anyone contracting to work on one- or two-family dwellings or townhouses needs a DLI residential building contractor license. Mechanical contractors need a $25,000 mechanical contractor bond on file with DLI. A homeowner who owns and occupies a single-family dwelling may do their own plumbing and their own electrical work, except electrical service equipment; owner electrical work is not allowed on rentals or manufactured homes.

Permit history

ePlace includes a public permit and property-history search, with more detail after signing in. Records older than 1992 require a property history request form emailed to [email protected].

Related offices

Office	Handles	Contact
Planning and Development	Zoning review, UDC, fence permits	City Hall Room 160, 218-730-5580
Engineering Division	Erosion control/land disturbance sign-off, lead water service questions	218-730-5101
MN DLI	Electrical permits, contractor licenses	dli.mn.gov